ANN ARBOR -- Roughly an hour after the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl ended in December, Frank Clark summed up Michigan's late-season collapse easier than any two people had been able to do during the previous three months.

It was pretty simple, actually.

"I think a lot of guys lost the will to play as a family," Clark said without hesitation. "You can't do that in football."

One of Brady Hoke's long-standing mantras to his team is that if he and the coaching staff have to be the club's primary leaders, then the Wolverines are going to have problems.

Last year, at some point, that may not have become the case -- but it might have been close.

But, according to Ryan -- who returns for his senior year in 2014 -- there wasn't much else after that.

"I don't want to be the only (leader) out here," Ryan said. "I want all the other guys, Frank, Brennen Beyer, Desmond Morgan, and all the younger guys, too. There's great leaders on this team that are younger. I want the whole team to be leaders.

"I think (last year) there were definitely some guys that had a stronger voice than others. I want the whole team to have a voice (this year). The younger guys see things differently than the older guys. I want everyone to have that voice."

Michigan will again elect captains this season, as it always does, but the team's core leaders say it's important this season that everyone have a say in how things are ran in the locker room.

At every level.

Ryan said he and and the rest of the team's veterans have encouraged younger players to speak up more or share their thoughts on how things should be done. The idea here: Don't be afraid to speak your mind, as the team is more than just a few captains and a bunch of followers.

"Coach Hoke talks a lot about senior leadership, but no one is entitled (here)," Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner said. "You have to earn that. And there are leaders on this team in other classes. We talked about that. We met with coach Hoke. We picked leaders in every class. And that's a message the seniors are trying to get across, the whole team has to lead. There's more than just senior leaders.

"I can't speak for everybody. I just wanted to follow our leaders (last year). It didn't work out the way we thought it would. So it's cool to try something new."

Chemistry in team sports is never easy. It's hard.

And football might be the toughest, as the Wolverines finished spring practice with 99 players on their roster. That number will grow in the fall.

Every player has a voice. And, as they say, no individual voice should be stronger than the team.

Michigan, as a group, is trying to remember that this spring. And so far, players say its working.

"We've had a great spring, and I think we did come closer as a team," Clark said. "And that just brings everyone together as a family. Everyone, including the freshmen, I feel like they've all bought into this.

"A lot of these guys, we've been together for three, four years. The team is a young team, but we have a lot of guys here who played early. We've been on the field together. We know each other. We're tight knit. We're ready to battle for each other."